Construction of paneled walls for buildings



April 22,1952 C, E, KENNEY 2,593,891

CONSTRUCTION OF PANELED WALLS FOR BUILDINGS Filed OC'. 26, 1945 NNN y All@ Patented Apr. 2.2, 1952 UNITED STATES PAT-ENT UFFICE CONSTRUCTION F PANELED WALLS FOR BUILDINGS| i claim. (c1. 1529;34)

This invention relates to the construction of panelled walls for buildings and particularly Vto external Walls of this class.

It is the primary object of the invention to provide an improved method of making panelled structures, which is particularly applicable to the outside walls of buildings, as it enables a completely weather-tight joint between the panels to be readily obtained. The invention is not, however, limited to this particular use, as the improved form of joint is quite decorative and has wide application, internally as well as externally.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved form and construction of capping member which has Ibeen evolved primarily in order to enable artificial stone glass or analogous cast, pressed or moulded material to be utilised, at the same time avoiding the necessity of providing xing means which are separate from the capping member, such, for instance, as screws or clips.

According to the invention a method of wall construction comprises securing adjacent edges of a pair of wall panels to a stanchion or like structural member, leaving a gap between the panels and then closing said gap by a capping member or an end-toend series of capping mem-` bers which engage the panels by tongue and groove joints, and which are slid endwise along the panel edges into position.

Moreover in a method of wall construction in which panel members are secured side by side to an upright stanchion or like structural member, according to the invention said panels are formed with adjacent edges which are spaced from one another and from said structural member, and a capping member is slid endwise along said edges to bridge the space between the panels, said capping member being formed in its two upright sides with grooves arranged to receive the said edges of the panels.

Preferably, the panels have marginal frames which are formed with anges engaged by grooves along the corresponding edges of the Acainping member or members. The cavity behind the capping member or members is usualy substantially lled with mastic cement to produce a water-tight joint across the edges of the panels. The structural member is preferably formed with a flange which enters a longitudinal groove in the capping member or members.

As a further feature of the invention a wall of a building comprises upright stanchions or like structural members spaced at intervals, panels extending between said structural members 'and secured thereto, and capping members arrangedto bridge the adjacent edges 'of the panels, said capping members being interengaged with the panels by tongue and groove joints. The structural members may be of T-shape in section, with the central 'flange extending towards the capping members, the central 'ange of the T-sha-pe structural member convenientlyentering a groove 4formed in a capping member `'c'o'rresponding with said structural member. The capping members may advantageously be made of artificial stone, glass, or other suitable material moulded or pressed to shape with grooves for engagement by tongues on the panels. The panels may have metal or other frames shaped in cross ,section with internal and external flanges, the internal `flanges holding th material of thepanels and the external flanges being in engagement with grooves in the capping members.

The invention isillustrated by way of example the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: l Figure 1 is a side elevation of a partly assembled wall of a building;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 21-'2 of Figure 1 and drawn to an enlarged scale; and

,Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing a conveniently modified construction for use at the corners of buildings.

In the preferred method of carrying the invention into effect for the construction of the walls of dwelling houses and like buildings, the walls are composed 'of a relatively large number of vertical stanchions placed at intervals of say three feet and firmly secured to afoundation. Two such stanchions are indicated at Il] andV II in Figure 1 and have their lower ends respectively embedded in a foundation I2 as indicated at I3 and I4. The stanchions I0 and II are composed of steel rolled to a T-shape in cross section and will be Seen more clearly in Figure 2, the transverse limb I5 of the section being arranged sub-- stantially parallel with the genera1 plane of the wall while the central flange I6 is directed towards the exterior of the wall. The spaces between the "stanchions are occupied by panels, three of which are shown in Figure 1 at I'I, I8 and I9. In 'general these panels are built up with metal frames, the sheet material which is tted within said frames being arranged in accordance with the` function required to be performed by the particular section of wall concerned. Thus, the panel I8 has a metal frame 20, the inwardly facing surface of which is formed with three flanges 2|, 22, and 23 arranged for the reception of a sheet 24 of opaque glass and a sheet 25 of material having good heat insulating properties. On the other hand the panel I1 is contained within a frame 25 which is iitted with a movable window frame 26, the glass of which is shown at 21; the window frame 26 is arranged to co-operate in the usual manner with anges 28 and 29 upon the frame 25 so as to secure a reasonably weather-tight t when the window is closed. As the window frame 26 does not extend to the bottom of the panel I1 the lower part of the latter is constituted by a section of wall material 3U conveniently of the same construction as the panel I8.

In the construction shown the vertical edges of the flanges are secured to the stanchions by sheet metal clips; thus as shown in Figure 2 the frame of the panel IB has a number of substantially U-shape clips, one of which is shown at 3 I, these conveniently being attached by screws or rivets as at 32. The opposite ends of the clips 3I are secured to the flange I6 of the stanchion I0 by nuts and bolts 33 which latter also serve for the attachment of the corresponding clips 34 belonging to the adjacent edge of the panel I1.

In order to produce a weather-tight joint between the panels, elongated capping members are provided, four of these being shown in Figure 1 at 35, 36, 31 and 38. These are moulded or pressed to shape and can conveniently be made of artificial stone, glass or like material so as to have a pleasing appearance and be substantially immune from deterioration by climatic conditions. The form of capping member shown in Figure 2 ismade of glass and it appears externally as a heavy beading of substantially semi-circular shape in cross section. At its rear part it is formed with a longitudinal groove 39 which is arranged to t over the outer part of the stanchion flange I6 while, at its two sides, it is formed with longitudinal grooves 46 and 4I respectively; these are arranged to slide over flanges 42 and 43 upon the frames and 26, the capping members being slid endwise into position during the fitting of the panels as for instance is shown in the case of the capping member 36 in Figure 1. This produces an exceedingly neat appearance as the capping members completely cover the means used for securing the panels in position. After the capping members -38 are in place, the spaces 44 between the capping members (such as 35) and the inner limbs I5 of the stanchion are completely lled with a mastic cement or like composition which enters the groove 4I) and 4I thus producing a competely water-tight seal and at the same time locking the parts securely tow gether.

At the corner of the building the construction shown in Figure 3 can be used. A pair of T-section stanchions 50 and 5I are placed together with their respective central flanges 52 and 53 pointing in opposite directions. To the flange 52 the panels of one wall are secured, conveniently by L-shaped clips, one of which is seen at 53' holding in position a wall panel unit 54. On the other hand the adjoining wall panel unit 55 is attached to the other stanchion 5I by clips of U- shape, one of which is shown at 56. The stanchions 50 and 5I are enclosed by a capping member 51 which is of somewhat J-shape in cross section and which has an elongated groove at 58 for engagement by a flange 59 upon the frame of the panel member 54, while along its opposite edge the capping member 51 has a groove 60 for engagement over a flange 6I upon the panel member 55. At its rear or inner part the capping member 51 has a groove 62 for the accommodation of the flange 53 while it has also a groove at 63 Vto receive the transverse limbs 64 and 65 of the stanchion members 56 and 5I respectively. After the capping members 51 have been slid into position the spaces 66 are lled with mastic cement or like composition in order to secure the parts together and produce the requisite weathertightness. It may be desirable in some cases to make each of the capping members 51 in two parts which are arranged to abut together as shown in broken lines at 61, thus facilitating the manufacture of the capping members and also their transport and erection; the mastic cement within the spaces 66 adjacent the division 61 ensures that a weather-tight joint is obtained between the two parts of the capping member.

It will be understood that the arrangements which have been described are given merely by way of example and that various modifications may be made to suit requirements. part of the capping members can be of any desired shape.

What I claim is:

In a wall of the class described, an upright stanchion, a pair of panel members extending laterally from either side of said stanchion, said stanchion being of T-shape in cross section with its transverse limb parallel with the panel members and its central limb between adjacent vertical panel edges, fastening clips securing the panel members to the central limb of the stanchion, leaving an intermediate space, flanges upon the adjacent vertical edges of the panel members disposed so that the edges of the flanges face the stanchion, arod-like capping member having a deep groove extending vertically along each of its two sides and its rear, said capping member being mounted along the flanges of both said panels respectively, and the front edge of said stanchion central limb by slidable endwise movement so that the grooves receive the flanges and the capping member is held by the positive interlocking engagement of said flanges with the said deep grooves, and waterproof sealing material filling the intermediate space between the edges of the panel members and between the back ,of the capping member and the stanchion, to provide a.

waterproof seal between th ecapping member and the panel members.

CYRIL ERNEST KENNEY.

REFERENCES CTED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 386,376 Bright July 17, 1888 674,089 Jacquart May 14, 1901 1,185,014 Shea May 30, 1916 1,219,208 Zahner Mar. 13, 1917 1,843,430 v Mayer Feb. 2, 1932 1,863,723 Levene June 21, 1932 2,103,407 Dean Dec. 28, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 441,722 Great Britain Jan. 24, 1936 629,018 Germany Apr. 21, 1936 The outside 

